Saytiev clinches third Olympic gold

Defending champion Buvaysa Saytiev of Russia has won his third Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medal in 12 years, beating Soslan Tigiev of Uzbekistan in the men's 74kg final.

The Uzbek underdog won the first period with a single-point takedown, but the 33-year-old six-time world champion, now with greying hair, evened it up in the second period.

The Russian then piled on the points in the third and celebrated his third Olympic triumph and the fifth Russian wrestling title at the Beijing Olympics by spreading the Russian flag at the centre of the mat.

Murad Gaidarov of Belarus and Kiril Terziev of Bulgaria both won bronze medals.

The Russians now have two freestyle golds to add to three Greco-Roman titles, with three other freestyle gold medals still on the table when the competition ends on Thursday.